The Veronicas- Hook Me Up

Upon first hearing The Veronicas 2005 debut album ‘The Secret Life Of…’ I was instantly hooked; despite this it was as album that I only recommended to a few. Now, not even a week after the release of their follow up second album ‘Hook Me Up’ and not only am I more excited by the duo then I previously was I’ve also recommended it to everyone whose even thought about looking my way. The most obvious step away from the debut is the style, where ‘The Secret Life Of…’ was a subtle blend of power pop and pop punk ‘Hook Me Up’ is a sonic blast of electroclash meets synthrock that will appeal to fans of acts such as Sid Maudlin and Alice In Videoland amongst others.

The album crashes straight into ‘Untouched’ which showcases the albums electronic stylings whilst flirting with a string section as well as heavier guitar work then what their fans have grown to expect, following close on its heels is the title track ‘Hook Me Up’ which dispenses with the guitars and focuses on the synths and programming. ‘This Is How It Feels’ keeps the electronics flowing but a quickened pace with a slightly glitchy bass line and yet more guitars that give the track slightly darker feel than the first two tracks, ‘This Love’ is a subtle blend of mellow, ambient synths and poppier guitars.

Next up is ‘I Can’t Stay Away’ a Twisted Sister cover was originally made available as a free download some time before the album was released, and though I’m not familiar with the original its clear that they had a different style in mind with this album as it fits in perfectly. ‘Take Me On The Floor’ starts out as one of the slower tracks on the album, at least until the chorus kicks in, ‘I Don’t Wanna Wait’ is another slower track overall which again incorporates the strings heard on ‘Untouched’ but there are a few bursts of lyrical energy.

The energy of the first few tracks is brought back into the mix with ‘Popular’ and this track along with ‘Untouched’ are definatley my personal favourites and recommended tracks for the album, it was also this track that bears most in common with my usual tastes and my earlier recommendation of Sid Maudlin.

Starting with ‘Revenge Is Sweeter (Than You Ever Were)’ the last four tracks begin to ease the electronics out until they are almost unnoticeable, the penultimate track ‘All I Have’ limits them to a few minor effects and the last track ‘In Another Life’ sounds more like the content of the debut album than any of the other tracks, though because of the gradual decrease in electronics over the last few tracks it still fits in just as well here.

Overall I personally feel that ‘Hook Me Up’ is a much stronger effort than ‘The Secret life Of…’. Though the prominence of the electronics on the majority of the tracks may put off some of the fans who thought of them as just a “hip” pop band the stand to gain a significant number of new fans.

As well as Sid Maudlin and Alice In Videoland who I’ve already mentioned I’d also recommend that fans of this album check out Fischerspooner, The Anix, Sexydeath, Shiny Toy Guns, Kill Hannah and The Sounds.